With the new school year underway for about 10 weeks now, we felt it would be appropriate to share some helpful tips to succeed and THRIVE in school. Whether you are a new parent sending your first child to playgroup or a "seasoned" parent with children in middle school, there are some basic guidelines that are worth repeating.
We understand that schools come along with their own "problems." Difficulty in getting along with certain teachers, administrators, therapists, and fellow parents are some issues parents may encounter. There are other common issues which you can take an active role in that will directly impact the ability of your child to succeed in school.
1. School bullying has been well documented and reported in the media. Nearly every school has been impacted and it impacts children across the board. According to Bullying Statistics, "..nearly a third of students aged 12-18 reported having been bullied at school.."
Get on board with your school. Connect with other parents. Have the school create real punishments for bullying (suspension, expulsion, etc.) and make sure they are enforced. For more tips on bullying prevention, click here.
2. Reduce Media Use: iPad. iPhone. Xbox. TV. Radio. The list goes on. Kids today have a seemingly endless array of connected and "smart" devices. USA TODAY has an article out today describing how the American Academy of Pediatrics is also weighing in on the subject, asking parents to control and monitor their children's media time.
Our speech therapists in Brooklyn have seen how destructive excess media use is on the child's ability to succeed in school. Numerous studies and reports on the subject can be found online, yet this holiday season, parents will once again buy various media devices or smartphones for children as young as 6 or 7 years old.
Monitor how long your children are online or using phones/video games at night. How can a 7 year old concentrate and do well in school when the previous evening involved 2 hours of TV and an hour of video games? It is just not possible.
3. Literacy: Help with reading is one of the most common requests we receive at our Brooklyn speech therapy center. There are numerous methods and reading programs out there, but lets start with the basics.
Research has proven that reading aloud (referred to as "shared reading") is one of the best methods to help your child understand fluent reading. You should be reading with your child EVERY DAY. There is no other way around it. Your child is in a period of critical growth, forming new neural pathways of learning each day.
Use visual information, such as graphic organizers, to supplement the reading material. A graphic organizer can easily help children visualize and process various elements of a story. Additional information on graphic organizers can be found here, and a quick google search will provide you with many websites with free downloadable organizers.
Vocabulary is the key ingredient in reading. Children that struggle with vocabulary tend to struggle with reading. A poor grasp of basic vocabulary will frustrate and make children give up on reading.
Explicit vocabulary teaching works wonders. Print word lists for your child's age/grade, and provide your child with the pronunciation and meaning. A couple words each day will work wonders of the course of a school year. Embed the newly learned words in various sentences and contexts, and allow your child to see and hear how the word is used.
Explore all the parts of a book with your child. Have him understand and identify the title, author, and back cover/inside flap information. Allow your child to explore the illustrations, and identify colors, shapes, and other relevant information in the picture. Ask questions as you read the book, and have your child try to guess what will happen next in the story.
Our Brooklyn speech therapy office provides individual reading and literacy instruction for children of all ages.
Call 347-871-8533 to speak with a Brooklyn speech therapist today.
We understand that schools come along with their own "problems." Difficulty in getting along with certain teachers, administrators, therapists, and fellow parents are some issues parents may encounter. There are other common issues which you can take an active role in that will directly impact the ability of your child to succeed in school.
1. School bullying has been well documented and reported in the media. Nearly every school has been impacted and it impacts children across the board. According to Bullying Statistics, "..nearly a third of students aged 12-18 reported having been bullied at school.."
Get on board with your school. Connect with other parents. Have the school create real punishments for bullying (suspension, expulsion, etc.) and make sure they are enforced. For more tips on bullying prevention, click here.
2. Reduce Media Use: iPad. iPhone. Xbox. TV. Radio. The list goes on. Kids today have a seemingly endless array of connected and "smart" devices. USA TODAY has an article out today describing how the American Academy of Pediatrics is also weighing in on the subject, asking parents to control and monitor their children's media time.
Our speech therapists in Brooklyn have seen how destructive excess media use is on the child's ability to succeed in school. Numerous studies and reports on the subject can be found online, yet this holiday season, parents will once again buy various media devices or smartphones for children as young as 6 or 7 years old.
Monitor how long your children are online or using phones/video games at night. How can a 7 year old concentrate and do well in school when the previous evening involved 2 hours of TV and an hour of video games? It is just not possible.
3. Literacy: Help with reading is one of the most common requests we receive at our Brooklyn speech therapy center. There are numerous methods and reading programs out there, but lets start with the basics.
Research has proven that reading aloud (referred to as "shared reading") is one of the best methods to help your child understand fluent reading. You should be reading with your child EVERY DAY. There is no other way around it. Your child is in a period of critical growth, forming new neural pathways of learning each day.
Use visual information, such as graphic organizers, to supplement the reading material. A graphic organizer can easily help children visualize and process various elements of a story. Additional information on graphic organizers can be found here, and a quick google search will provide you with many websites with free downloadable organizers.
Vocabulary is the key ingredient in reading. Children that struggle with vocabulary tend to struggle with reading. A poor grasp of basic vocabulary will frustrate and make children give up on reading.
Explicit vocabulary teaching works wonders. Print word lists for your child's age/grade, and provide your child with the pronunciation and meaning. A couple words each day will work wonders of the course of a school year. Embed the newly learned words in various sentences and contexts, and allow your child to see and hear how the word is used.
Explore all the parts of a book with your child. Have him understand and identify the title, author, and back cover/inside flap information. Allow your child to explore the illustrations, and identify colors, shapes, and other relevant information in the picture. Ask questions as you read the book, and have your child try to guess what will happen next in the story.
Our Brooklyn speech therapy office provides individual reading and literacy instruction for children of all ages.
Call 347-871-8533 to speak with a Brooklyn speech therapist today.
From the USA TODAY article
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